The military history of Japan covers a vast time-period of over three

millennia A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

- from the Jōmon ( 1000 BC) to the present day. After a long period of

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

until the 12th century, there followed

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

s that culminated in military governments known as the

Shogunate , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Japanese history The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new invent ...

records that a military class and the

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

ruled

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

for 676 years - from 1192 until 1868. The Shōgun and the

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

warriors stood near the apex of the Japanese

social structure In the social sciences, social structure is the aggregate of patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of individuals. Likewise, society is believed to be grouped into structurally rel ...

- only the aristocratic nobility nominally outranked them. The

sakoku was the Isolationism, isolationist Foreign policy of Japan, foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, for a period of 265 years during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countri ...

policy effectively closed Japan from foreign influences for 212 years - from 1641 to 1853. Feudal militarism transitioned to imperialism in the 19th century after the arrival of Admiral Perry in 1853 and the elevation of

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

in 1868. Western colonial powers and their

imperialist Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

policies impacted on Japan's outlook and led to

Japanese colonialism The territorial conquests of the Empire of Japan in the Western Pacific and East Asia regions began in 1895 with its victory over Qing China in the First Sino-Japanese War. Subsequent victories over the Russian Empire (Russo-Japanese War) and ...

and rampant imperialism ( 1895 - 1945) until Japan's defeat in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The 1947 Japanese Constitution prohibits Japan from offensively using war against other nations. This led to the establishment of the

Japan Self-Defense Forces The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...

in 1954. The U.S.–Japan Alliance (1951 onwards) requires the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

to protect Japan and to conduct offensive duties. In 2015 the Constitution was reinterpreted to allow collective self-defense of Japan's allies. As of 1954 the

(JSDF) consist of the

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

(JGSDF),

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

(JMSDF) and

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfa ...

(JASDF). The

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

is the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Military authority runs from the Prime Minister to the cabinet-level

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

of the

Japanese Ministry of Defense The is an executive department of the Government of Japan responsible for preserving the peace and independence of Japan, and maintaining the country’s national security and the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The ministry is headed by the ...

. The Prime Minister and Minister of Defense are advised by the

Chief of Staff, Joint Staff The is the highest-ranking military officer and head of the Operational Authority (command) over the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). The Chief of Staff, Joint Staff assists the Minister of Defense on all matters of the JSDF, and executes orde ...

, who heads the . The Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, is the highest-ranking military officer in the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and is the head of the Operational Authority over the JSDF, executing orders of the Minister of Defense with directions from the Prime Minister.

Prehistoric and Ancient Japan

Jōmon period (14,000–1000 BC)

The

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

is the time in

Japanese prehistory The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new invent ...

between 14,000 and 1000 BC during which the

Japanese archipelago The Japanese archipelago (Japanese: 日本列島, ''Nihon rettō'') is a archipelago, group of 6,852 islands that form the country of Japan, as well as the Russian island of Sakhalin. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to t ...

was inhabited by the Jōmon, a

hunter-gatherer A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

culture that reached a considerable degree of

sedentism In cultural anthropology, sedentism (sometimes called sedentariness; compare sedentarism) is the practice of living in one place for a long time. , the large majority of people belong to sedentary cultures. In Sociocultural evolution, evolutio ...

and cultural complexity. The name "cord-marked" was first applied by the American scholar

Edward S. Morse Edward Sylvester Morse (June 18, 1838 – December 20, 1925) was an American zoologist, archaeologist, and orientalist. He is considered the "Father of Japanese archaeology." Early life Morse was born in Portland, Maine to Jonathan Kimb ...

, who discovered

sherd In archaeology, a sherd, or more precisely, potsherd, is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels, as well. Occasionally, a piece of broken p ...

s of

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

in 1877 and subsequently translated it into

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

as ''jōmon''.Mason, 14 The pottery style characteristic of the first phases of Jōmon culture was decorated by impressing cords into the surface of wet clay and is generally accepted to be among the oldest in East Asia and the world. Near the end of the Jōmon period (), villages and towns became surrounded by

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

s and wooden fences due to increasing violence within or between communities. Battles were fought with weapons like the

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

, sling,

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

, bow and

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

. Some human remains were found with arrow wounds.

Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD)

The

Yayoi The started at the beginning of the Neolithic in Japan, continued through the Bronze Age, and towards its end crossed into the Iron Age. Since the 1980s, scholars have argued that a period previously classified as a transition from the Jōmon p ...

period is the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

era of Japan from 1000 BC to 300 AD.Schirokauer et al., 133–143.Silberman et al., 154–155. Japan transitioned to a settled agricultural society. There was a big influx of farmers from the Asian continent to Japan. The Yayoi culture flourished from southern

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

to northern

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

. The rapid increase of roughly four million people in Japan between the Jōmon and Yayoi periods are partially due to migration and due to a shift from a hunter-gatherer to an agricultural diet with the introduction of rice cultivation.

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

goods and bronze-making techniques from the Asian mainland reached the Japanese archipelago as early as the 3rd century BC. It is believed that bronze and, later,

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

implements and weapons were introduced to Japan near the end of this time (and well into the early Yamato period). Archaeological findings suggest that bronze and iron weapons were not used for war until later, starting at the beginning of the Yamato period, as the metal weapons found with human remains do not show wear consistent with use as weapons. The transition from the Jōmon to Yayoi, and later to the Yamato period, is likely to have been characterized by violent struggle as the natives were displaced and assimilated by the invaders with their vastly superior military technology. The most well-regarded theory is that present-day Yamato Japanese are descendants of both the Indigenous

Jōmon people is the generic name of several peoples who lived in the Japanese archipelago during the Jōmon period (). The Jōmon people may have consisted of multiple groups, which arrived and merged at different times in the Japanese archipelago, using multi ...

and the immigrant

Yayoi people The were an ancient ethnicity that migrated to the Japanese archipelago from Korea and China during the Yayoi period (300 BCE–300 CE). Although highly controversial, a single study that utilized radiometric dating techniques inconclusively ...

. Around this time,

San Guo Zhi The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

first referred to the nation of "

Wa (Japan) is the oldest attested name of Japan in foreign sources (names such as Fusang or Penglai are mythological or legendary, thus are not considered). The Chinese and Korean scribes regularly wrote it in reference to the inhabitants of the Wa K ...

". According to this work, Wa was "divided into more than 100 tribes", and for some 70 or 80 years there were many disturbances and wars. About 30 communities had been united by a sorceress-queen named

Himiko , also known as , was a shamaness-queen of Yamatai-koku in . Early Chinese dynastic histories chronicle tributary relations between Queen Himiko and the Cao Wei Kingdom (220–265) and record that the Yayoi period people chose her as ruler fo ...

. She sent an emissary named Nashime ( :ja:難升米, Nashonmi in Chinese) with a tribute of slaves and cloth to

Daifang The Daifang Commandery was an administrative division established by the Chinese Han dynasty on the Korean Peninsula between 204 and 314. History Gongsun Kang, a warlord in Liaodong, separated the southern half from the Lelang commandery and es ...

in China, establishing diplomatic relations with

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

(the Chinese kingdom of Wei).

Classical Japan

By the end of the 4th century, the

Yamato clan The , also known as , was an immigrant clan active in Japan since the Kofun period (250–538), according to the history of Japan laid out in the '' Nihon Shoki''. The name ''fuhito'' comes from their occupation as scribes. They were descended fro ...

was well established on the

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

plain with considerable control over the surrounding areas. The

Five kings of Wa The were kings of ancient Japan who sent envoys to China during the 5th century to strengthen the legitimacy of their claims to power by gaining the recognition of the Chinese emperor. Details about them are unknown. According to written records in ...

sent envoys to China to recognize their dominion of the Japanese Islands. The Nihon Shoki states that the Yamato were strong enough to have sent an army against the powerful northern Korean state of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

(of the

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

). Yamato Japan had close relations with the southwestern Korean kingdom of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

. In 663, Japan, supporting Baekje, was defeated by the allied forces of

Tang China The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

and the southeastern Korean kingdom of

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

, at the Battle of Hakusonko in the Korean peninsula. As a result, the Japanese were banished from the peninsula. To defend the Japanese archipelago, a military base was constructed in

Dazaifu, Fukuoka is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, part of the greater Fukuoka metropolitan area.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Dazaifu" in . Nearby cities include Ōnojō and Chikushino. Although mostly mountainous, it does have arable land ...

, on Kyushu.

Yamato period (250–710 AD)

This period is divided into the

Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典』� ...

and

Asuka period The was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 (or 592 to 645), although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period. The Yamato polity evolved greatly during the Asuka period, which is named after t ...

. Ancient Japan had close ties with the

Gaya confederacy Gaya (, ) was a Korean confederacy of territorial polities in the Nakdong River basin of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan period. The traditional period used by historians for Gaya chronology is AD 42–53 ...

and

on the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. Gaya, where there was an abundance of naturally occurring iron, exported abundant quantities of iron armor and weapons to Wa, and there may have even been a Japanese military post there with Gaya and Baekje cooperation.. According to the

Gwanggaeto Stele The Gwanggaeto Stele is a memorial stele for the tomb of Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo, erected in 414 by his son Jangsu. This monument to Gwanggaeto the Great is the largest engraved stele in the world. It stands near the tomb of Gwanggaeto ...

, Silla and Baekje were

client state A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...

s of Japan. The

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...

investigated the stele and reported that it reads, "Silla and Baekje were client states of Japan". In 552, the ruler of Baekje appealed to Yamato for help against its enemies, the neighboring

. Along with his emissaries to the Yamato court, the Baekje king sent bronze images of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

, some Buddhist scriptures, and a letter praising

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. These gifts triggered a powerful burst of interest in Buddhism. In 663, near the end of the Korean Three Kingdoms period, the

Battle of Baekgang The Battle of Baekgang or Battle of Baekgang-gu, also known as Battle of Hakusukinoe ( ja, 白村江の戦い, Hakusuki-no-e no Tatakai / Hakusonkō no Tatakai) in Japan, as Battle of Baijiangkou ( zh, c=白江口之战, p=Bāijiāngkǒu Zhīzh ...

(白村江) took place. The '' Nihon Shoki'' records that Yamato sent 32,000 troops and 1,000 ships to support Baekje against the Silla-Tang force. However, these ships were intercepted and defeated by a Silla-Tang fleet. Baekje, without aid and surrounded by Silla and Tang forces on land, collapsed. Silla, now viewing Wa Japan as a hostile rival, prevented Japan from having any further meaningful contact with the Korean Peninsula until a far later time. The Japanese then turned directly to China.

Nara period (710–794 AD)

In many ways, the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

was the beginning of Japanese culture as we know it today. It was in this period that

, the Chinese writing system, and a codified system of laws made their appearance. The country was unified and centralized, with basic features of the later feudal system. Succession disputes were widespread during this period, just as in most of the later periods. Much of the discipline, weapons, and armor of the

came to be during this period, as techniques of mounted archery, swordsmanship, and spear fighting were adopted and developed. The Nara period saw the appointment of the first ''Sei-i Tai-

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'',

Ōtomo no Otomaro was a Japanese general of the Nara period and of the early Heian period. He was the first to hold the title of '' sei-i taishōgun''. The title of Shōgun was bestowed by Emperor Kanmu in 794. Some believe he was born in 727. His father was Ōt ...

by the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

in 794 CE. The shōgun was the

military dictator A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

of Japan with near absolute power over territories via the military. Otomaro was declared "Sei-i Taishōgun" which means "Barbarian-subduing Great General".

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kanmu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the sco ...

granted the second title of Sei-i Tai-shōgun to

Sakanoue no Tamuramaro was a court noble, general and ''shōgun'' of the early Heian period of Japan. He served as Dainagon, Minister of War and ''Ukon'e no Taisho'' (Major Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards). He held the ''kabane'' of Ōsukune and ...

for subduing the

Emishi The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean "shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contemp ...

in northern

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

Heian period (794–1185 AD)

The Heian Period marks a crucial shift, away from a state that was united in relative peace against outside threats to one that did not fear invasion and, instead, focused on internal division and clashes between ruling factions of samurai clans, over political power and control of the line of succession to the

Chrysanthemum Throne The is the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term also can refer to very specific seating, such as the throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace. Various other thrones or seats that are used by the Emperor during official functions, ...

. With the exception of the

Mongol invasions The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

of the 13th century, Japan did not face a considerable outside threat until the arrival of

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

s in the 16th century. Thus, pre-modern Japanese military history is largely defined not by wars with other states, but by internal conflicts. The tactics of the

of this period involved archery and swordsmanship. Nearly all duels and battles began with an exchange of arrow fire and then hand-to-hand combat with swords and daggers. The

Imperial family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pap ...

struggled against the control of the

Fujiwara clan was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

, which almost exclusively monopolized the post of regent (

Sesshō and Kampaku In Japan, was a title given to a regent who was named to act on behalf of either a child Emperor before his coming of age, or an empress regnant. The was theoretically a sort of chief advisor for the Emperor, but was in practice the title of ...

). Feudal conflicts over land, political power, and influence eventually reached its apex in the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself ...

(1180–1185). This was a national civil war between the two most powerful clans: the

Taira The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided i ...

and

Minamoto was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the ...

clans. They fought for control over the declining

Imperial Court in Kyoto The Imperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji period (1868–1912), after which the court was moved from Kyoto (formerly Heian-kyō) to Tokyo (formerly Edo) and integrated into the Meiji gov ...

. Each side had a large number of smaller allied clans. The

Battle of Dan-no-Ura The was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshū. On April 25, 1185 (or March 24, 1185 by the official page of Shimonoseki City), the fleet of the Minamoto clan ...

was a major naval battle between these clans on April 25, 1185. Minamoto had a fleet of 300 ships and Taira had 400 to 500 ships. It resulted in a decisive victory for the Minamoto clan and the destruction of the Taira clan. The end of the

brought the end of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

and the beginning of the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

Feudal Japan

This period is marked by the departure from relatively small or medium-sized clan-like battles, to massive clashes of clans over the control of Japan. The establishment of the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Y ...

coincided with the ascendancy of the samurai class over the aristocratic nobility of the Imperial Court. The

s were

military government A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

s and

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

rulers of Japan. They dominated Japanese politics for nearly seven hundred years (1185–1868), subverting the power of the

as a

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

and the

. In the

, Japan successfully repulsed the

, and this saw a large growth in the size of military forces, with

as an elite force and as commanders. Following roughly fifty years of bitter fighting over control of the Imperial succession, the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

, under the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establ ...

, saw a brief period of peace as the power of the traditional systems of administration by the Imperial Court gradually declined. Later, the position of the provincial governors and other officials under the shogunate slowly gave way into a new class of ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

s'' (feudal lords) in the early 11th century. The Daimyō were protected by

and they dominated Japan's internal politics. This brought the

into a period of 150 years of fractious disunity and war.

Kamakura period (1185–1333)

Before the establishment of the

, civil power in Japan was primarily held by the ruling emperors and their regents. The regents were typically appointed from the ranks of the imperial court and the aristocratic clans that vied there. Military affairs were handled under the auspices of the civil government. After defeating their main rival the

Taira clan The Taira was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi Periods of Japanese history – the others being the Fujiwara, the Tachibana, and the Minamoto. The clan is divided ...

, and the

Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.

, the

Minamoto clan was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during the ...

established the Kamakura shogunate.

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...

seized power from the central government and the aristocracy and established a

feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

based in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

. The

gained political power over the aristocratic nobility (''

kuge The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamakur ...

'') of the

Emperor Go-Toba was the 82nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1183 through 1198. This 12th-century sovereign was named after Emperor Toba, and ''go-'' (後), translates literally as "later"; an ...

and the

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

remained the ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' rulers. In 1192,

Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after hi ...

was awarded the title of ''Sei-i Taishōgun'' by

. The political system that Yoritomo developed with a succession of ''shōguns'' as the head became known as a

shogunate , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

. This brought a period of peace. The battles fought during this period mainly consisted of agents of the Minamoto suppressing rebellions. Yoritomo's wife's family, the Hōjō, seized power from the Kamakura ''shōguns''. When Yoritomo's sons and heirs were assassinated, the ''shōgun'' himself became a hereditary figurehead. Real power rested with the Hōjō regents. The Kamakura shogunate lasted for almost 150 years, from 1192 to 1333. The

Mongol invasions of Japan Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of the Korean kingdom of Goryeo to vassaldom. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attempts are of mac ...

(1274 and 1281) were the most important wars of the

and defining events in

. Japan's remote location makes it secure against invaders from the Asian continent. The

is surrounded by vast seas and has rugged, mountainous terrain with steep rivers.

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

is closest to the southernmost point of the Korean peninsula with a distance of . That's almost 6 times farther away than from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Throughout history, Japan was never fully invaded nor colonized by foreigners. Japan only surrendered once after

.Ronald P. Toby, ''State and Diplomacy in Early Modern Japan: Asia in the Development of the Tokugawa Bakufu'', Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, (1984) 1991. , is recognized as Japan's greatest

swordsmith Bladesmithing is the art of making knives, swords, daggers and other blades using a forge, hammer, anvil, and other smithing tools. Bladesmiths employ a variety of metalworking techniques similar to those used by blacksmiths, as well as woodworkin ...

. He created the finest swords and daggers (called

tachi A is a type of traditionally made Japanese sword (''nihonto'') worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. ''Tachi'' and ''katana'' generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when sheathed, the latter depending on t ...

and

tantō A is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords ( ''nihonto'') that were worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The tantō dates to the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ...

), in the '' Soshu'' tradition.

First Mongol Invasion (1274)

In the 13th century, the Mongols conquered and controlled China under the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

. Subsequently, they attempted to invade Japan twice. In early October 1274, the

Battle of Bun'ei The , or Bun'ei Campaign, also known as the First Battle of Hakata Bay, was the first attempt by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to invade Japan. After conquering the Japanese settlements on Tsushima and Iki islands, Kublai Khan's fleet m ...

began with a combined force of

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

and Koreans. They arrived on ships and seized the Japanese islands Tsushima, Iki island, Hirato island, Taka and Nokono. The Mongols slaughtered the inhabitants of Tsushima and about 1000 Japanese soldiers were killed on Iki island. When the Mongols arrived on Japan's mainland of

they encountered the first real Japanese army.Goryeosa volume 104 episode 17 "invasion of Tsushima and annihilation" During the Battle of Akasaka the Japanese won with a surprise attack by the forces of

Kikuchi Takefusa was the 10th head of the Kikuchi clan of Higo Province and gained fame for himself and his clan during the defense of Japan during both Mongol invasions of Japan. Background and family "Kikuchi Jirō Takefusa" was son of the 9th head of the cl ...

. The second victory was at the Battle of Torikai-Gata where the samurai of

Takezaki Suenaga was a retainer of the Higo Province, Japan who fought in both the Battle of Bun'ei and the Battle of Kōan during the Mongol invasions of Japan. Suenaga commissioned the ''Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba'', an illustrated handscroll, in order to provide ...

and Shiraishi Michiyasu killed 3,500 Mongols. The Mongol army and

Hong Dagu Hong Dagu ( Mongolian name: Charghu 察爾球) (1244–1291) was a Korean commander of the Yuan dynasty. His given name was Jun-gi (俊奇; 준기, zun4 qi2), but his courtesy name Dagu is far more famous. The Hong family dominated the Liaoyang ...

withdrew to their ships towards the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

. The Japanese army conducted night attacks and killed as many soldiers as they could. On the night of October 19, a typhoon caused one-third of their returning ships to sink and many Mongol soldiers drowned. This typhoon was called the

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

which means "divinely conjured wind".

Second Mongol Invasion (1281)

The

anticipated a second invasion so they constructed walls and fortresses along the shore and gathered forces to defend it. The second Mongol invasion was the largest naval invasion in history until

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

. In the spring of 1281,

Kublai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...

sent two separate forces. An impressive 900 ships containing 40,000 Yuan troops set out from Masan, Korea, while an even larger force of 100,000 sailed from southern China in 3,500 ships. The Mongols planned an overwhelming coordinated attack by the combined imperial Yuan fleets. The Chinese fleet of the Yuan was delayed by difficulties in provisioning and manning their large number of ships. This culminated in the

Battle of Kōan The , also known as the Second Battle of Hakata Bay, was the second attempt by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China to invade Japan after their failed attempt seven years earlier at the Battle of Bun'ei. In the summer of 1281, the Yuan invaded ...

. The Eastern Route Army arrived at

Hakata Bay is a bay in the northwestern part of Fukuoka city, on the Japanese island of Kyūshū. It faces the Tsushima Strait, and features beaches and a port, though parts of the bay have been reclaimed in the expansion of the city of Fukuoka. The bay ...

on June 21, 1281. They proceeded without the larger southern force. Waves of samurai responded and prevented the Mongols from forming a beachhead. The samurai used a harassment tactic by boarding the Yuan ships with small boats at night. They killed many of the Yuan forces in the bay and the samurai left before dawn. This caused the Yuan to retreat to Tsushima. During the next few weeks up to 3000 Yuan were killed in close quarters. On July 16, the first of the Southern force ships arrived. By August 12, the two fleets were ready to attack Japan. However, on August 15 a major typhoon (kamikaze) struck the

Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel (동수로 Dongsuro) is a channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea. The strait is the channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima ...

. It lasted two full days and destroyed most of the Yuan fleet. Over 4,000 ships were destroyed in the storm; 80 percent of the Yuan soldiers drowned or were killed by samurai on the beaches. The loss of ships was so great that "a person could walk across from one point of land to another on a mass of wreckage".Winters, pp. 14–15 The equipment, tactics, and military attitudes of the

and their Mongol opponents differed greatly, and while both invasions failed miserably, their impact on developments and changes in samurai battle were quite significant. The samurai remained attached to ideas of single combat, that of honorable battle between individual warriors, and to certain ritual elements of battle, such as a series of archery exchanges conducted before entering into hand-to-hand fighting. The Mongols, of course, knew nothing of Japanese conventions, and were arguably much more organized in their strike tactics. They did not select individual opponents with whom to conduct honorable duels, but rode forth on horseback, with various forms of gunpowder weapons and the famous

Mongol bow The Mongol bow is a type of recurved composite bow used in Mongolia. "Mongol bow" can refer to two types of bow. From the 17th century onward, most of the traditional bows in Mongolia were replaced with the similar Manchu bow which is primarily d ...

, charging into enemy lines and killing as many as they could without regard to Japanese conceptions of protocol. Though archery and mounted combat were central to Japanese warfare at this time as well, the Mongols remain famous even today for their prowess in these matters. The ways that samurai tactics and attitudes were affected by these experiences are difficult to ascertain, but they were certainly significant.

Kusunoki Masashige

One of the greatest samurai was

Kusunoki Masashige was a Japanese samurai of the Kamakura period remembered as the ideal of samurai loyalty. Kusunoki fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in the Genkō War to overthrow the Kamakura shogunate and restore power in Japan to the Imperial Court. Kusunoki ...

. He lived during the

and represents the ideal of samurai loyalty. Kusunoki fought against the

in the

Genkō War The , also known as the , was a civil war fought in Japan between the Emperor Go-Daigo and the Kamakura Shogunate from 1331 to 1333. The Genkō War was named after Genkō (second), Genkō, the Japanese era name, Japanese era corresponding to the ...

(1331–1333) to restore power to

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order ...

. Kusunoki was also a brilliant tactician and strategist. The defense of two key Loyalist fortresses at Akasaka, the

Siege of Akasaka The siege of Akasaka was one of the earlier battles of the Genkō War between the figurehead Emperor Godaigo and the largely Hōjō controlled Kamakura shogunate during the final years of the Kamakura period in Japan. The battle in question was ...

, and Chihaya, the

Siege of Chihaya The 1333 siege of Chihaya took place during the final year of Japan's Kamakura period. It was one of several battles of the Genkō War, in which Emperor Go-Daigo sought to eliminate the power of the Hōjō clan regents. Chihaya-jō (千早城, C ...

, helped enable Emperor Go-Daigo to briefly regain power. In 1333, Go-Daigo rewarded Kusunoki with governorship of

Settsu Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises the southeastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture and the northern part of Osaka Prefecture. It was also referred to as or . Osaka and Osaka Castle were the main center of the province. Most of Settsu's ...

and

Kawachi Province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawachi ...

. The Meiji government posthumously gave Kusunoki the highest decoration of

Senior First Rank The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the state. ''Ikai'' as a system was originally used in the Ritsuryo system, which was the politi ...

in 1880. Kusunoki "stands in the history of his country as the ideal figure of a warrior, compact of civil and military virtues in a high degree".

Muromachi period (1336–1467)

The shogunate fell in the wake of the 1331

, an uprising against the shogunate organized by the

. After a brief period under true Imperial rule, the

was established in 1336, and a series of conflicts known as the Nanboku-chō wars began. For over fifty years, the archipelago became embroiled in disputes over control of Imperial succession, and thus over the country. Battles grew larger in this period, and were less ritualized. Though single combats and other elements of ritual and honorable battle remained, organized strategies and tactics under military commanders began to emerge, along with a greater degree of organization of formations and divisions within armies. It was in this period, as well, that weaponsmithing techniques emerged, creating so-called "Japanese steel" blades, prone to breaking yet extremely precise and sharp. The

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

, and myriad similar or related blade weapons, appeared at this time and would dominate Japanese arms, relatively unchanged, through the mid-20th century. As a result, it was also during this period that the shift of samurai from being archers to swordsmen began in a significant way.

Sengoku period (1467–1603)

Mounted samurai showing uma yoroi or bagai (horse armor) 10

The

Sengoku Period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

is marked by social upheaval, political intrigue and near-constant military conflict. Less than a century after the end of the Nanboku-chō Wars, peace under the relatively weak

was disrupted by the outbreak of the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. ''Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bunmei ...

(1467–1477). This was a civil war between the

and numerous

. The ancient capital of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

was converted into a battlefield and a heavily fortified city that suffered severe destruction. The authority of both the shogunate and the Imperial Court had weakened, and provincial Governors (''

shugo , commonly translated as “(military) governor,” “protector,” or “constable,” was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the ''shōgun'' to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The pos ...

'') and other local samurai leaders emerged as the ''

s'', who battled each other, religious factions (e.g. the

Ikkō-ikki were rebellious or autonomous groups of people that were formed in several regions of Japan in the 15th-16th centuries; backed up by the power of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, they opposed the rule of governors or ''daimyō''. Mainly con ...

), and others for land and power for the next 150 years or so. The period has come to be called the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

, after the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

in ancient Chinese history. Over one hundred domains clashed and warred throughout the archipelago, as clans rose and fell, boundaries shifted, and some of the largest battles in all of global pre-modern history were fought. A great many developments and significant events took place during this period, ranging from advances in castle design to the advent of the cavalry charge, the further development of campaign strategies on a grand scale, and the significant changes brought on by the introduction of firearms. The composition of the army changed, with masses of ''

ashigaru were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The first known reference to ''ashigaru'' was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ''ashigaru'' became prevalent by various ...

'', footsoldiers armed with long lances (''

yari is the term for a traditionally-made Japanese blade (日本刀; nihontō) in the form of a spear, or more specifically, the straight-headed spear. The martial art of wielding the is called . History The forerunner of the is thought to be a ...

''), archers, and, later, gunners serving alongside mounted

. Naval battles likewise consisted of little more than using boats to move troops within range of bow or

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...

, and then into hand-to-hand fighting. The long-standing rivalry between the

daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally ...

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

of Kai Province and

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as was a Japanese ''daimyō''. He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. Known as ...

Echigo Province was an old province in north-central Japan, on the shores of the Sea of Japan. It bordered on Uzen, Iwashiro, Kōzuke, Shinano, and Etchū Provinces. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Echigo''" in . It corresponds today to Niigata ...

are legendary. The

Battles of Kawanakajima The were a series of battles fought in the Sengoku period of Japan between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province from 1553 to 1564. Shingen and Kenshin contested each other for control of the plain of Kawanakaj ...

between the armies of Shingen and Kenshin (1553–1564) are one of the most cherished tales in Japanese military history and the epitome of Japanese chivalry and romance. They're mentioned in epic literature,

woodblock printing Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is create ...

and

movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

. In the first conflict between Shingen and Kenshin they were very cautious, only committing themselves to indecisive skirmishes. There were a total of five engagements at Kawanakajima. Only the fourth battle was a serious, all-out battle between the two. During the fourth battle, Kenshin's forces cleared a path through the Takeda troops and Kenshin engaged Shingen in single combat. Kenshin attacked Shingen with his sword while Shingen defended with his

Japanese war fan The Japanese war fan, or ''tessen'' ( ja, 鉄扇,てっせん, tessen, translation="iron fan"), is a weaponized Japanese hand fan designed for use in warfare. Several types of war fans were used by the samurai class of feudal Japan and each had ...

(tessen). Both lords lost many men in this fight, and Shingen in particular lost two of his main generals, Yamamoto Kansuke and his younger brother

Takeda Nobushige was a samurai of Japan's Sengoku period, and younger brother of Takeda Shingen. He was known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". Takeda Nobushige held the favor of their father, and was meant to inherit the Takeda lands, we ...

. After the death of Shingen,

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

borrowed heavily from Shingen's governmental and military innovations after he had taken leadership of Kai Province during

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...

's rise to power. Many of these designs were used by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. The

Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this period ...

, in and around the

Kantō region The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...

, were among the first to establish networks of satellite castles, and the complex use of these castles both for mutual defense and coordinated attacks. The

Takeda is a Japanese family name.1990 Census Name Files

, under

, developed the Japanese equivalent of the

cavalry charge A charge is an offensive maneuver in battle in which combatants advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in a decisive close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisiv ...

. Though debate continues today as to the force of his charges, and the appropriateness of comparing them to Western cavalry charges, it is evident from contemporary sources that it was a revolutionary development, and powerful against defenders unused to it. The

Battles of the Sengoku period A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

of particular interest or significance are too numerous to list here. Suffice to say this period saw a myriad of strategic and tactical developments, and some of the longest sieges and largest battles in the history of the early modern world. Battle-of-Nagashino-Map-Folding-Screen-1575

Battle-of-Nagashino-Map-Folding-Screen-1575

Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568–1600)

This was the final phase of the

. It's named for the increasingly important castle-cities, is marked by the introduction of firearms, after contact with the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, and a further push towards all-out battle, away from individual combats and concepts of personal honor and bravery. The

was introduced to Japan in 1543, by Portuguese on board a Chinese ship that crashed upon the tiny island of

Tanegashima is one of the Ōsumi Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 444.99 km2 in area, is the second largest of the Ōsumi Islands, and has a population of 33,000 people. Access to the island is by ferry, or by air to New ...

in the southernmost parts of the Japanese archipelago. Though the weapon's introduction was not seen to have particularly dramatic effects for several decades, by the 1560s thousands of gunpowder weapons were in use in Japan, and began to have revolutionary effects upon Japanese tactics, strategy, army compositions, and castle architecture. The 1575

Battle of Nagashino The took place in 1575 near Nagashino Castle on the plain of Shitaragahara in the Mikawa Province of Japan. Takeda Katsuyori attacked the castle when Okudaira Sadamasa rejoined the Tokugawa, and when his original plot with Oga Yashiro for taki ...

, in which about 3,000

iers led by

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

cut down charging ranks of thousands of

, remains one of the chief examples of the effect of these weapons. Highly inaccurate, and taking a long time to reload, arquebusses, or ''hinawa-jū'' ( 火縄銃) as they are called in Japanese, did not win battles on their own. Oda Nobunaga,

, and other commanders developed tactics that honed arquebus use to the greatest advantage. At Nagashino, Nobunaga's gunners hid behind wooden barricades, embedded with large wooden spikes to ward off cavalry, and took turns firing volleys and reloading. Edo period rifles

As in Europe, the debilitating effects of wet (and therefore largely useless) gunpowder were decisive in a number of battles. But, one of the key advantages of the weapon was that unlike bows, which required years of training largely available only to the samurai class, guns could be used by relatively untrained footmen. Samurai stuck to their swords and their bows, engaging in cavalry or infantry tactics, while the ''

'' wielded the guns. Some militant Buddhist factions began to produce firearms in foundries normally employed to make bronze temple bells. In this manner, the

, a group of monks and lay religious zealots, turned their

Ishiyama Honganji The was the primary fortress of the Ikkō-ikki, leagues of warrior priests and commoners who opposed samurai rule during the Sengoku period. It was established in 1496, at the mouth of the Yodo River, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. At the ...

cathedral-fortress into some of the most well-defended fortresses in the country. The ''ikki'' and a handful of other militant religious factions thus became powers unto themselves, and fought fierce battles against some of the chief generals and samurai clans of the archipelago. Though civil strife continued to rage as it had for the previous century, the battles growing larger and more tactically complex, it was at this time that the many "warring states" began to be united. There were 3 powerful

who unified the

. In the second half of the 16th century, Japan was first fully unified by

and then by

. The third daimyō who unified Japan was

after the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

in 1600. This resulted in 268 years of uninterrupted rule by the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

. With an ambition to conquer China's

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

requested passage through the Korean peninsula from the King of

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

. Upon being refused, Hideyoshi launched invasions of Korea with an army of 158,800 soldiers between 1592 and 1598. The Japanese army quickly captured several major cities from the unprepared Joseon kingdom including the capital, causing the king to retreat and request military aid from China. With the arrival of the Chinese army, the joint Chinese-Korean troops pushed the Japanese army down to the southeast of the Korean peninsula where a military stalemate was established by 1594. Concurrently, the "Righteous Army" of Korean civilians waged guerilla warfare and Admiral Yi Sun-sin repeatedly disrupted the Japanese supply lines at sea. After Hideyoshi's death, the

Council of Five Elders The Council of Five Elders (Japanese: :jp:五大老, 五大老, ''Go-Tairō'') was a group of five powerful feudal lords (Japanese: 大名, ''Daimyō'') formed in 1598 by the Regent (Japanese: 太閤 ''Sesshō and Kampaku, Taikō'') Toyotomi Hideyo ...

ordered the remaining Japanese forces in Korea to retreat. The

was the last major battle of the

on October 21, 1600. This was a huge battle between the forces loyal to

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's second son. The birth of Hideyori cre ...

versus

. Hideyori's Western Army consisted of many clans from Western Japan with a total of 120,000 men. The Eastern Army was 75,000 men strong with clans from Eastern Japan. The decisive victory of the Eastern Army solidified the rule of

. In 1603, Ieyasu was appointed with the title of ''

'' by

Go-Yōzei. This made Ieyasu the nominal ruler of the whole country of Japan. The

was the last shogunate until the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

in 1867.

Early modern period

Edo period (1603–1867)

This period was one of relative peace under the authority of the

, a forced peace that was maintained through a variety of measures that weakened the ''daimyōs'' and ensured their loyalty to the shogunate. Since 1660, Japan had 200 years of peace with no major domestic or foreign conflicts. The Tokugawa peace was ruptured only rarely and briefly prior to the violence that surrounded the

of the 1860s. The lack of warfare caused the

to increasingly become courtiers, bureaucrats, and administrators rather than warriors. The conduct of samurai served as role model behavior for the other social classes.

Miyamoto Musashi , also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer and rōnin, who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship a ...

was one of the most famous Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer and

rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master's ...

who lived from 1584 to 1645. He became the Kensei (sword saint) of Japan. He had a unique double-bladed swordsmanship (Nito-Ichi-ryū) and an undefeated record in 61 duels. He wrote the classic Japanese martial arts literature

The Book of Five Rings is a text on ''kenjutsu'' and the martial arts in general, written by the Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi around 1645. Many translations have been made, and it enjoys an audience considerably broader than other martial artists and people ac ...

and

Dokkōdō The "Dokkōdō" ("The Path of Aloneness", "The Way to Go Forth Alone", or "The Way of Walking Alone") is a short work written by Miyamoto Musashi a week before he died in 1645. It consists of 21 precepts. "Dokkodo" was largely composed on the occas ...

(The Path of Aloneness). The

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

enforced the policy of ''

Sakoku was the Isolationism, isolationist Foreign policy of Japan, foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, for a period of 265 years during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countri ...

'' ("closed country"), which prohibited most foreign contact and trade between 1641 and 1853. Under the policy, most foreign nationals were barred from entering Japan and common Japanese people couldn't leave. By restricting the

s' ability to trade with foreign ships coming to Japan or pursue trade opportunities overseas, the Tokugawa shogunate could ensure none would become powerful enough to challenge its supremacy. The

Siege of Osaka The was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages (winter campaign and summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege ...

, which took place in 1614–1615, was essentially the last gasp for

, heir to Hideyoshi, and an alliance of clans and other elements who opposed the shogunate. A samurai battle on a grand scale, in terms of strategy, scale, methods employed, and the political causes behind it, this is widely considered the final conflict of the Sengoku period. Outside of the siege of Osaka, and the later conflicts of the 1850s to 1860s, violence in the Edo period was restricted to small skirmishes in the streets, peasant rebellions, and the enforcement of maritime restrictions. Social tension in the Edo period brought a number of rebellions and uprisings, the largest of which was the 1638

Shimabara Rebellion The , also known as the or , was an uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638. Matsukura Katsuie, the ''daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpopular polic ...

. In the far north of the country, the island of

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

was inhabited by Ainu villagers and Japanese settlers. In 1669, an Ainu leader led a revolt against the

Matsumae clan The was a Japanese clan that was confirmed in the possession of the area around Matsumae, Hokkaidō as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and charged with defending it, and by extension the whole of Japan, from the Ainu "barbarians" ...

who controlled the region, and it was the last major uprising against Japanese control of the region. It was put down in 1672. In 1789, another Ainu revolt, the Menashi–Kunashir Rebellion, was crushed. The

Bakumatsu was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji government ...

were the final years of the

and the isolationist

policy between 1853 and 1867. The appearance of

gunboat diplomacy In international politics, the term gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of naval power, implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare should terms not be agreeable to th ...

in Japan in the 1850s, and the forced so-called "

opening of Japan was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji government. ...

" by Western forces, underscored the weakness of the shogunate and led to its collapse. Though the actual end of the shogunate and establishment of an Imperial Western-style government was handled peacefully, through political petitions and other methods, the years surrounding the event were not entirely bloodless. Following the formal termination of the shogunate, the was fought in 1868–1869 between the Tokugawa army and a number of factions of nominally pro-Imperial forces.

Modern period

Since the first visit of Commodore Perry to

Edo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...

in July 1853, Japan lacked industrial and military power to prevent western coercion with unequal treaties that took advantage of Japan. Japan had antiquated and decentralized military forces. The feudal lords were pressured into signing multiple treaties with the

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

known as " The Unequal Treaties". Thereafter in 1853 six island fortifications with cannon batteries were built at

Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially built in this area for defensive purposes in the 1850s. Reclaimed land offshore Shinagawa was dramatically expanded durin ...

Egawa Hidetatsu was a Japanese Bakufu intendant of the 19th century. Jansen, Hall 1989, p. 815. He was Daikan, in charge of the domains of the Tokugawa shogunate in Izu, Sagami and Kai Provinces during the Bakumatsu period. Jansen, Hall 1989, p. 108. He took a ...

for the

. The purpose was to protect

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

from another American incursion. Thereafter Industrial developments started in order to build modern cannons. A

reverbatory furnace A reverberatory furnace is a metallurgical or process furnace that isolates the material being processed from contact with the fuel, but not from contact with combustion gases. The term ''reverberation'' is used here in a generic sense of ''re ...

was established by

in Nirayama to cast cannons. It was completed in 1857.Iida
1980
/ref> Japan was determined to avoid the fate of other Asian countries which were colonized by western imperial powers. The Japanese people and the government with

realized that in order to preserve the independence of Japan it had to modernize to become an equal of the western

colonial powers Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

. In 1868

Tokugawa Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned of his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming ...

resigned which ended the Tokugawa dynasty and the last

. The

restored practical abilities and the political system under

.Henry Kissinger On China. 2011 p. 79 This caused enormous change in Japan's political and social structure from the late

Edo Period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

to the early

Meiji Period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

. Japan set out to "gather wisdom from all over the world" and embarked on an ambitious program of military, social, political, and economic reforms. Japan quickly transformed in one generation from an isolated

feudal society Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

to a modern industrialized

nation state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...

and an emerging

great power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power inf ...

. After a long period of peace, Japan quickly rearmed and modernized by importing western weapons, then manufacturing them domestically, and finally by manufacturing weapons of Japanese design. During the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

(1904–1905), Japan became the first modern Asian nation to win a war against a European nation. In 1902, it became the first Asian nation to sign a mutual defense pact with a European nation,

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

Japan was influenced by

Western imperialism in Asia The influence and imperialism of Western Europe and associated states (such as Russia, Japan, and the United States) peaked in Asian territories from the colonial period beginning in the 16th century and substantially reducing with 20th century ...

which caused Japan to participate as a

colonial power Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

. Japan was the last major power to enter the race for global colonization. It expanded rapidly, with colonial acquisitions, from 1895 till 1942. The

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

was one of the largest in history. It included colonies in Manchuria, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Indochina, Burma and many Pacific islands. In 1937, Japan had one-sixth the industrial capacity than the USA. The Japanese industry was dependent on the shipment of raw materials from Japan's overseas territories and foreign imports. A series of increasingly stringent economic embargoes on raw materials by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

such as the Japanese Oil Embargo (1940–1941) pushed the Empire of Japan into conflict with the United States.

Meiji era (1868–1912)

Modern army established

In the mid-19th century Japan didn't have a unified national army. The country consisted of feudal domains (''han'') with the

(

bakufu , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

) in overall control since 1603. The bakufu army was a large force, but only one among others. The Shogunate's efforts to control the nation depended upon the cooperation of its vassal

Daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally ...

s' armies. From 1867, Japan requested various Western military missions in order to help Japan to modernize its armed forces. The first foreign military mission in Japan was held by

in 1867. On June 29, 1869

founded a

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

called Tōkyō Shōkonsha in Kudan, Tokyo (present-day

Chiyoda, Tokyo is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.Profile< ...

). It was established in the wake of the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

(1868–1869) to honor those who died for the Emperor. It was renamed to

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...

by the Emperor in 1879 which literally means "Pacifying the Nation". The Emperor wrote a poem "I assure those of you who fought and died for your country that your names will live forever at this shrine in Musashino." The

commemorates the honor and achievements of the millions of men, women, children and pets who died in service of

from the

to the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

(1946–1954). Later the shrine would include the worship of all who died serving in

wars involving Japan War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

since 1853 such as the Taishō and

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

. In 1871, the

politicians A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Iwakura Tomomi was a Japanese statesman during the Bakumatsu and Meiji period. He was one of the leading figures of the Meiji Restoration, which saw Japan's transition from feudalism to modernity. Born to a noble family, he was adopted by the influential Iwa ...

and

Ōkubo Toshimichi was a Japanese statesman and one of the Three Great Nobles regarded as the main founders of modern Japan. Ōkubo was a ''samurai'' of the Satsuma Domain and joined the movement to overthrow the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate during the ''Bak ...

led the organization of a national army. It consisted exclusively of 10,000 strong

. Ōkubo was also a

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sou ...

and he was one of the

Three Great Nobles of the Restoration The is a term used in Japan for three figures that played an important role in the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and are regarded as the founders of the modern state of Japan.『維新元勲十傑論』、16頁 The Three Great Nobles were: * Ōkubo ...

and one of the main founders of modern Japan. In 1873, the Imperial government asked the newly appointed

War Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

to organize a national army for Japan. So Yamagata convinced the government and enacted a conscription law in 1873 which established the new

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

. The law established military service for males of all classes, for a duration of 3 years, with an additional 4 years in the reserve. Yamagata modernized and modeled it after the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Yamagata Aritomo ''Gensui (Imperial Japanese Army), Gensui'' Prince , also known as Prince Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a senior-ranking Japanese people, Japanese military commander, twice-elected Prime Minister of Japan, and a leading member of the ''genrō'', an � ...

was born in a lower ranked

family from Hagi. He was a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

in the

and twice

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

. He was one of the main architects of the military and political foundations of early modern Japan.

is regarded as the father of

Japanese militarism refers to the ideology in the Empire of Japan which advocates the belief that militarism should dominate the political and social life of the nation, and the belief that the strength of the military is equal to the strength of a nation. Histo ...

. The principal officer training school for the

was established as the Heigakkō in

in 1868. It was renamed in 1874 to the and relocated to

Ichigaya is an area in the eastern portion of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Places in Ichigaya *Hosei University Ichigaya Campus *Chuo University Graduate School *Ministry of Defense headquarters: Formerly GHQ of the Imperial Japanese Army; following World W ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. The second Army Academy was built by the second French Military Mission to Japan. The inauguration was in 1875. This was an important Military Academy for Japanese Army officers. It is on the same ground as the modern

Japan Ministry of Defense The is an executive department of the Government of Japan responsible for preserving the peace and independence of Japan, and maintaining the country’s national security and the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The ministry is headed by the ...

. The second French Military Mission also helped reorganize the

, and establish the first draft law (January 1873). Some members of the mission became some of the first western students of Japanese

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

in history. Such as

Étienne de Villaret Étienne de Villaret (February 17, 1854 - January 18, 1931) was a senior officer in the French army. Biography He was born on February 17, 1854 in Saint-Laurent-Lolmie, France. In his youth, he served in Algeria and Tunisia, until 1884 when he ...

and Joseph Kiehl were members of the

dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the ...

Sakakibara Kenkichi , was a Japanese samurai and Martial arts, martial artist. He was the fourteenth headmaster of the Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū, Jikishinkage school of sword fighting. Through his Jikishinkage contacts he rose to a position of some politica ...

and learned Jikishinkage-ryu. Captain

Jules Brunet Jules Brunet (2 January 1838 – 12 August 1911) was a French military officer who served the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in Japan. Originally sent to Japan as an artillery instructor with the French military mission of 1867, he ref ...

, initially a French

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

advisor of the Japanese central government, eventually took up arms alongside the Shōgun

's army against the Imperial troops during the

. Class distinctions were mostly eliminated during modernization to create a

representative democracy Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represen ...

. The

lost their status as the only class with military privileges. However, during the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, most leaders in Japanese society (politics, business and military) were ex-samurai or descendants of

. They shared a set of values and outlooks that supported

. Thus the military class that began with the

in 1192 AD continued to rule Japan. The

Constitution of the Empire of Japan The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in for ...

was enacted on November 29, 1890. It was a form of mixed

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

and

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...

. The

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

was legally the supreme leader, and the Cabinet were his followers. The Prime Minister would be elected by a

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. In reality, the Emperor was

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

but the

was the actual head of government.

Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895)

The Sino-Japanese War was fought against the forces of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

of China in the

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

, and the coast of China. It was the first major conflict between Japan and an overseas military power in modern times. The conflict was primarily over influence in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the port of

Weihai Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea. Weihai's popula ...

wei, the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

government

sued for peace Suing for peace is an act by a warring party to initiate a peace process. Rationales "Suing for", in this older sense of the phrase, means "pleading or petitioning for". Suing for peace is usually initiated by the losing party in an attempt to ...

in February 1895. The war demonstrated the failure of the

's attempts to modernize its military and fend off threats to its sovereignty, especially when compared with Japan's successful

. For the first time, regional dominance in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

shifted from China to Japan; The prestige of the Qing Dynasty, along with the classical tradition in China, suffered a major blow. The Qing's loss of

as a

tributary state A tributary state is a term for a pre-modern state in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, or tribute, to the superior power (the suzerain). This tok ...

sparked an unprecedented public outcry. Throughout most of history Korea was a tributary state and

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...

of multiple

Chinese dynasties Dynasties in Chinese history, or Chinese dynasties, were hereditary monarchical regimes that ruled over China during much of its history. From the legendary inauguration of dynastic rule by Yu the Great circa 2070 BC to the abdication of the ...

. Japan's victory of the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...

put Korea completely under Japanese control. Korea became a Japanese vassal state. The signed between Japan and China ended the war. Through this treaty, Japan forced China to open ports for international trade and cede the southern portion of China's

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

province as well as the island of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

to Japan. China also had to pay a war indemnity of 200 million Kuping

tael Tael (),"Tael" entry
at the

Triple Intervention The Tripartite Intervention or was a diplomatic intervention by Russia, Germany, and France on 23 April 1895 over the harsh terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki imposed by Japan on the Qing dynasty of China that ended the First Sino-Japanese War. ...

. Korea was fully annexed by Japan with the

Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910 The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, also known as the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, was made by representatives of the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire on 22 August 1910. In this treaty, Japan formally annexed Korea following the Jap ...

signed by

Ye Wanyong Ye Wan-yong (; 17 July 1858 – 12 February 1926), also spelled Yi Wan-yong or Lee Wan-yong ( ko, 이완용), was a Korean politician who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Korea. He was pro-Japanese and is best remembered for signing the J ...

, Prime Minister of Korea, and

Terauchi Masatake Gensui Count Terauchi Masatake ( ja, 寺内正毅), GCB (5 February 1852 – 3 November 1919), was a Japanese military officer, proconsul and politician. He was a '' Gensui'' (or Marshal) in the Imperial Japanese Army and the Prime Minister o ...

, who became the first Japanese Governor-General of Korea.

Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)

The Japanese occupation of Taiwan was strongly resisted by various interests on the island, and was only completed after a full-scale military campaign requiring the commitment of the Imperial Guards Division and most of the 2nd and 4th Provincial Divisions. The campaign began in late May 1895 with a Japanese landing at Keelung, on the northern coast of Taiwan, and ended in October 1895 with the Japanese capture of Tainan, the capital of the self-styled Republic of Formosa. The Japanese defeated regular Chinese and Formosan formations relatively easily but their marching columns were often harassed by guerillas. The Japanese responded with brutal reprisals, and sporadic resistance to their occupation of Taiwan continued until 1902.

The Boxer Rebellion

The Eight-Nation Alliance was an international military coalition set up in response to the Boxer Rebellion in the Qing Empire of China. The eight nations were the Empire of Japan, the Russian Empire, the British Empire, the French Third Republic, the United States, the German Empire, the Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the summer of 1900, when the extra-jurisdictional international legations in Beijing came under attack by Boxer rebels supported by the Qing government, the coalition dispatched their armed forces, in the name of "humanitarian intervention", to defend their respective nations' citizens, as well as a number of Chinese Christians who had taken shelter in the legations. The incident ended with a coalition victory and the signing of the Boxer Protocol.

Russo-Japanese War

Following the

, and the humiliation of the forced return of the

Liaotung peninsula The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the h ...

to China under Russian pressure (the "

"), Japan began to build up its military strength in preparation for further confrontations. Japan promulgated a ten-year naval build-up program, under the slogan "Perseverance and determination" (Jp:臥薪嘗胆, Gashinshoutan), in which it commissioned 109 warships, for a total of 200,000 tons, and increased its Navy personnel from 15,100 to 40,800. These dispositions culminated with the

(1904–1905). The battleship ''Mikasa'' was the flagship of admiral

Tōgō Heihachirō Marshal-Admiral Marquis , served as a '' gensui'' or admiral of the fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy and became one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He claimed descent from Samurai Shijo Kingo, and he was an integral part of preserving ...

. At the

Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima (Japanese:対馬沖海戦, Tsushimaoki''-Kaisen'', russian: Цусимское сражение, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known as the Battle of Tsushima Strait and the Naval Battle of Sea of Japan (Japanese: 日 ...

, the Mikasa with Admiral Tōgō led the

Combined Fleet The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

into what has been called "the most decisive naval battle in history". The Russian fleet was almost completely annihilated: out of 38 Russian ships, 21 were sunk, 7 captured, 6 disarmed, 4,545 Russian servicemen died and 6,106 were taken prisoner. On the other hand, the Japanese only lost 117 men and 3 torpedo boats. This overwhelming victory made admiral Tōgō one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. The Japanese victory in the

of 1904–1905 marks the emergence of Japan as a major military power. Japan demonstrated that it could apply Western technology, discipline, strategy, and tactics effectively. The war concluded with the

Treaty of Portsmouth A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...

. The complete victory of the Japanese military surprised world observers. The consequences transformed the balance of power in

. The Battle of Yalu River was the first major land battle during the Russo-Japanese War from 30 April to 1 May 1904. It was also the first victory in decades of an Asian power over a European power. It marked Russia's inability to match Japan's military prowess. Western powers viewed Japan's victory over Russia as the emergence of a new Asian regional power. With the Russian defeat, some scholars have argued that the war had set in motion a change in the global world order with the emergence of Japan as not only a regional power, but rather, the main Asian power.

Taishō era and World War I (1912–1926)

The

was a member of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. As an ally of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, Japan declared war on

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1914. Japan quickly seized the German island colonies the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...

and

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

in the Pacific. The Japanese

seaplane carrier A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

''Wakamiya'' conducted the world's first successful naval-launched air raids on 5 September 1914 and during the first months of

from

Kiaochow Bay The Jiaozhou Bay (; german: Kiautschou Bucht, ) is a bay located in the prefecture-level city of Qingdao (Tsingtau), China. The bay has historically been romanized as Kiaochow, Kiauchau or Kiao-Chau in English and Kiautschou in German. Geogr ...

off

Tsingtao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

. On 6 September 1914 was the very first air-sea battle in history. A Farman aircraft launched by Wakamiya attacked the Austro-Hungarian cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth and the German gunboat Jaguar off Tsingtao. Four seaplanes bombarded German land targets. The Germans surrendered on 6 November 1914. During the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

the Allied Powers intervened in Russia. The

sent the largest military force of 70,000 soldiers to the eastern region.Humphreys, ''The Way of the Heavenly Sword: The Japanese Army in the 1920s'', p. 25 They supported

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

White forces in Russia. The Allied Powers withdrew in 1920. The Japanese military stayed until 1925 following the signing of the

Soviet–Japanese Basic Convention The was a treaty normalizing relations between the Empire of Japan and the Soviet Union that was signed on 20 January 1925. Ratifications were exchanged in Beijing on February 26, 1925. The agreement was registered in ''League of Nations Treaty ...

. A small group of Japanese cruisers and destroyers also participated in various missions in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. In 1921, during the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, Japan developed and launched the , which was the first purpose-designed

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

in the world. pre-dated ''Hōshō'' and had a long landing deck, but was designed and initially built as an ocean liner. The first purpose-designed aircraft carrier to be laid down was in 1918 but she was completed after ''Hōshō''. Japan subsequently developed a fleet of aircraft carriers that was second to none.

Shōwa era and World War II (1926–1945)

Already controlling the area along the

South Manchuria Railroad The South Manchuria Railway ( ja, 南満州鉄道, translit=Minamimanshū Tetsudō; ), officially , Mantetsu ( ja, 満鉄, translit=Mantetsu) or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operatio ...

, Japan's

Kwantung Army ''Kantō-gun'' , image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG , image_size = 300px , caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo , dates = April ...

further invaded

(

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...

) in 1931, following the

Mukden Incident The Mukden Incident, or Manchurian Incident, known in Chinese as the 9.18 Incident (九・一八), was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria. On September 18, 1931, L ...

, in where Japan claimed to have had territory attacked by the Chinese. By 1937, Japan had annexed territory north of Beijing and, following the

Marco Polo Bridge Incident The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuria ...

, a full-scale invasion of China began. Japanese military superiority over a weak and demoralized Chinese Republican army allowed for swift advances down the eastern coast, leading to the fall of Shanghai and

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

(Nanking, then capital of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

) the same year. The Chinese suffered greatly in both military and civilian casualties. An estimated 300,000 civilians were killed during the first weeks of Japanese occupation of Nanjing, during the

Nanking Massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...

. In September 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan became allies under the

Tripartite Pact The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. It was a defensive military ...

. Germany, which had previously trained and supplied the Chinese army, halted all Sino-German cooperation, and recalled its military advisor (

Alexander von Falkenhausen Alexander Ernst Alfred Hermann Freiherr von Falkenhausen (29 October 187831 July 1966) was a German general and military advisor to Chiang Kai-shek. He was an important figure during the Sino-German cooperation to reform the Chinese Army. In 19 ...

). In July 1940, the U.S. banned the shipment of aviation gasoline to Japan, while

invaded French Indochina and occupied its naval and air bases in September 1940. In April 1941, the

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

signed a neutrality pact and Japan increased pressure on the

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

to cooperate in economic matters. Following Japan's refusal to withdraw from the

(with the exclusion of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

) and

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

; the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands imposed an embargo (July 22, 1941) on

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

, while shipments of

scrap metal Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

, and other materials had virtually ceased. Meanwhile, American economic support to China began to increase.

Hideki Tojo Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assistan ...

was a politician and general of the

. Politically, he was a fascist, nationalist, and militarist. Tojo served as Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan during most of the Pacific War (his tenure being October 17, 1941, to July 22, 1944). Tojo supported a

preventive war A preventive war is a war or a military action which is initiated in order to prevent a belligerent or a neutral party from acquiring a capability for attacking. The party which is being attacked has a latent threat capability or it has shown t ...

against the United States.

Isoroku Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II until he was killed. Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reor ...

was the most famous military commander. He was a Fleet Admiral of the

and the commander-in-chief of the

during

. Isoroku's extensive naval career started when he served on the armored cruiser Nisshin during the

(1904–1905). He oversaw many naval operations such as the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

Battle of the Java Sea The Battle of the Java Sea ( id, Pertempuran Laut Jawa, ja, スラバヤ沖海戦, Surabaya oki kaisen, Surabaya open-sea battle, Javanese : ꦥꦼꦫꦁꦱꦼꦒꦫꦗꦮ, romanized: ''Perang Segara Jawa'') was a decisive naval battle o ...

Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...

and the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...

. He became an exalted naval hero.

Hiroyoshi Nishizawa was a Japanese naval aviator and an ace of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during World War II. Nishizawa was known to his colleagues as 'the Devil' for his breathtaking, brilliant, and unpredictable aerobatics and superb control of hi ...

was arguably the most successful Japanese

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

of the

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service The was the Naval aviation, air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired their first air ...

with an estimated 120 to 150 victories. Following the Japanese

and against several other countries on December 7–8, 1941, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and other

declared war. The

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

became part of the global conflict of

. Japanese forces initially experienced great success against Allied forces in the Pacific and Southeast Asia, capturing

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and many

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

. They also undertook major offensives in Burma and launched air and naval attacks against Australia. The Allies turned the tide of war at sea in mid-1942, at the

. Japanese land forces continued to advance in the

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and

Solomon Islands campaign The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, du ...

s but suffered significant defeats or were forced to retreat at the battles of

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to t ...

, the

Kokoda Track The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japanese ...

, and

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

. The Burma campaign turned, as the Japanese forces suffered catastrophic losses at

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...

and

Kohima Kohima (; Angami Naga: ''Kewhira'' ()), is the capital of the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Originally known as ''Kewhira'', Kohima was founded ...

, leading to the greatest defeat in Japanese history up to that point. From 1943 onwards, hard-fought campaigns at the battles of Buna-Gona, the

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

the Philippine Sea,

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the south of the bay is Mindanao Isl ...

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, and others resulted in horrific casualties, mostly on the Japanese side, and produced further Japanese retreats. Very few Japanese ended up in POW camps. This may have been due to Japanese soldiers' reluctance to surrender. The

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

was the bloodiest battle of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

. The total number of casualties shocked American military strategists. This made them apprehensive to invade Japan's main islands, because it would result in a very high death toll. The brutality of the conflict is exemplified by US troops taking body parts from dead Japanese soldiers as "war trophies" or "war souvenirs" and Japanese cannibalism. During the Pacific War, some units of the Imperial Japanese Army engaged in war crimes. This was in particular the mistreatment of

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

and

civilians Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

. Between 1937 and 1945, approximately 7,357,000 civilians died due to military activity in the

R. J. Rummel Rudolph Joseph Rummel (October 21, 1932 – March 2, 2014) was an American political scientist and professor at the Indiana University, Yale University, and University of Hawaiʻi. He spent his career studying data on collective violence and war w ...

. ''China's Bloody Century''. Transaction 1991 . Table 5A Mistreatment of Allied prisoners of war through forced labour and brutality received extensive coverage in the west. During that period there were significant underlying cultural differences, because according to

Bushido is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...

it was cowardly and shameful to surrender to the enemy. Thus soldiers who surrendered had relinquished their honor and didn't deserve respect or basic treatment. Fred Borch explained: The Japanese government has been criticized for inadequate acknowledgement of the suffering caused during World War II in history teaching in its schools which caused international protest. However, many Japanese officials such as

Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Emperors An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

, Chief Cabinet Secretaries and

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

made more than 50 war apology statements from 1950 to 2015. Japan also paid billions of dollars in war reparations for 23 years from 1955 till 1977. Other countries have exploited the war guilt to boost nationalism and hostility against Japan. For example, the Chinese Communist Party uses patriotism as a tool to alleviate social discontent over internal problems. The Jiang Zemin government chose patriotism as a way to counterbalance the decline in socialist ideology. This caused patriotism to be fostered through the Chinese educational system with an anti Japanese nature. The anti-Japan protests in China in April 2005 were mostly young people with nationalist views. The Chinese police force stood by idly during the violent protests. On August 6 and August 9, 1945, the U.S. Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An estimated 150,000–246,000 people died as a direct result of these two bombings. Japan didn't have nuclear weapon technology so this new type of atomic bomb was a surprise. Hiroshima was totally unprepared. 69% of Hiroshima's buildings were destroyed and 6% damaged. At this time, on August 8, the

entered the war against Japan. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, and a formal Japanese Instrument of Surrender (1945), Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, on the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63), USS ''Missouri'' in Tokyo Bay. The surrender was accepted, from a Japanese delegation led by Mamoru Shigemitsu, by General Douglas MacArthur, as Supreme Allied Commander, along with representatives of each Allied nation. A separate surrender ceremony between Japan and China was held in Nanking on September 9, 1945. Throughout history Japan has never been fully invaded nor conquered by a foreign power. Japan also never capitulated to a foreign power, thus Japan was unwilling to surrender. However, Japan couldn't counter the destructive nuclear bombs of America. So the Japanese thought it was better to accept the humiliating Potsdam Declaration and rebuild Japan rather than continue fighting with millions of casualties and decades of guerrilla warfare. On August 15, 1945, a broadcast of Gyokuon-hōsō, a recorded speech of Emperor Shōwa was released to the public. The last sentence is indicative: Following the surrender, Douglas MacArthur established bases in Japan to oversee the postwar development of the country. This period in Japanese history is known as the Occupied Japan, Occupation, when for the first time in history Japan was occupied by a foreign power. U.S. President Harry Truman officially proclaimed an end to hostilities on December 31, 1946. As the de facto military ruler of Japan, Douglas MacArthur's influence was so great that he was dubbed the . The Allies (led by the United States) repatriated millions of Japanese diaspora, ethnic Japanese from colonies and military camps throughout Asia. This largely eliminated the Japanese Empire and restored the independence of its conquered territories. Upon adoption of the Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitution, Japan became the State of Japan (Nihon Koku, ). The

was dismantled and all Japanese colonial empire, overseas territories were lost. Japan was reduced to the territories that were traditionally within the Japanese cultural sphere pre-1895: the four main islands (

, and Shikoku), the Ryukyu Islands, and the Nanpō Islands. The Kuril Islands also historically belong to Japan. The Kuril Islands were first inhabited by the Ainu people and then controlled by the Japanese

in the

. However, the Kuril Islands weren't included due to a Kuril islands dispute, dispute with the Soviet Union. Over the course of the war, Japan displayed many significant advances in military technology, strategy, and tactics. Among them were the Yamato-class battleship, ''Yamato''-class battleship, aircraft carrier innovation (e.g. Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō, Hōshō), the I-400-class submarine, Sen-Toku submarine bomber carriers, Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Mitsubishi Zero fighters, Kamikaze bombers, type 91 torpedo, Nakajima Kikka, Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, Kaiten human torpedoes and the Kairyū-class submarine.

Contemporary period

Shōwa era (Post-war) (1945–1989)

Post

, Japan was deprived of any military capability after signing the Surrender of Japan, surrender agreement in 1945. The Occupation of Japan, U.S. occupation forces were fully responsible for protecting Japan from external threats. Japan only had a minor police force for domestic security. Japan was under the sole control of the United States. This was the only time in

that it was occupied by a foreign power. Unlike the Allied-occupied Germany, occupation of Germany, other countries such as the

had almost zero influence in Japan. West Germany was allowed to write its own Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution under supervision of the Allies. West Germany was at the forefront of the Cold War and wasn't required to include a pacifist clause in their constitution. Meanwhile, General Douglas MacArthur had near complete control over Japanese politics. Japan's Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitution was mostly written by the United States and under the guidelines of General Douglas MacArthur. This changed Japan's previous authoritarian system of quasi-

to a form of liberal democracy with a parliamentary-based political system. The constitution guarantees Civil and political rights, civil and human rights. The

changed to a symbolic status as "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people." Douglas MacArthur included Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, Article 9 which says Japan forever renounces war as an instrument for settling international disputes and declares that Japan will never again maintain "land, sea, or air forces or other war potential". Japan became a pacifism, pacifist country since September 1945. The trauma of

produced strong pacifist sentiments among the nation. There were growing external threats of the Cold War and Japan didn't have adequate forces to counter it. During the Korean War (1950–1953) Japan was the forward logistics base and provided many supplies for US and UN forces. The unilateral renunciation of all military capabilities was questioned by conservative politicians. These sentiments were intensified in 1950 as occupation troops were moved from Japan to the Korean War (1950–53). This left Japan virtually defenseless and vulnerable. They thought a mutual defense relationship with the United States was needed to protect Japan from foreign threats. In July 1950 the Japanese government, with the encouragement of the US occupation forces, established a National Police Reserve (警察予備隊 Keisatsu-yobitai). This consisted of 75,000 men equipped with light infantry weapons. This was the first step of its postwar rearmament. In 1952, , the waterborne counterpart of NPR, was also founded. The Allied occupation of Japan ended after the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco on September 8, 1951, which became effective on April 28, 1952, thus restoring the sovereignty of Japan. On 8 September 1951 the Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan was signed. The treaty allowed United States Forces Japan, United States forces stationed in Japan to deal with external aggression against Japan while Japanese ground and maritime forces dealt with internal threats and natural disasters. The United States was permitted to act for the sake of maintaining peace in East Asia and could exert its power on Japanese domestic quarrels. The treaty has lasted longer than any other alliance between two great powers since the Peace of Westphalia treaties in 1648. Accordingly, in mid-1952, the National Police Reserve was expanded to 110,000 men and renamed the National Safety Forces. The Coastal Safety Force was an embryonic navy that was transferred with the National Police Reserve to the National Safety Agency. Strict civilian control over the military was established with the 1947-constitution to prevent the military from regaining overwhelming political power. Thus soldiers, sailors and airforce members cannot be involved in political activities. The Defense Agency of Japan stated that: The war-renunciation clause of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, Article 9 was the basis for strong political objections to any sort of armed force other than a conventional police force. In 1954, however, separate land, sea, and air forces were created for defensive purposes, under the command of the

. The 1954 Self-Defense Forces Act (Act No. 165 of 1954) reorganized the National Security Board as the Defense Agency on July 1, 1954. Afterward, the National Security Force was reorganized as the

(GSDF), which is the de facto post-war Japanese army. The Coastal Safety Force was reorganized as the

(JMSDF), which is the de facto Japanese Navy. The

(JASDF) was established as a new branch of the JSDF. General Keizō Hayashi was appointed as the first Chairman of Joint Staff Council—professional head of the three branches. Conscription was abolished on 3 May 1947. Enlistment in the JSDF is voluntary at 18 years of age and older. The Far East Air Force (United States), Far East Air Force, U.S. Air Force, announced on 6 January 1955, that 85 aircraft would be turned over to the fledgling Japanese air force on about 15 January, the first equipment of the new force. On 19 January 1960, the unequal status of Japan with the United States was corrected with the amended Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan by adding mutual defense obligations. This treaty requires the US to pre-inform Japan of US army mobilization and to not impose itself concerning Japanese domestic issues. Japan and the United States are obligated to assist each other if there's an armed attack in territories administered by Japan. Japan and the United States are required to maintain capacities to resist common armed attacks. This established a U.S.–Japan Alliance, military alliance between Japan and the United States. Japan is the only country to have suffered Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear attacks in history. Thus in 1967,

Eisaku Satō outlined the Three Non-Nuclear Principles by which Japan stands against the production or possession of nuclear weaponry. However, due to its high technology level and large number of operating nuclear power plants, Japan is considered to be "nuclear capable", i.e., it could Japanese nuclear weapon program, develop usable nuclear weapons within one year if the political situation changed significantly. See section 2: "The Self Defense Forces" Thus many analysts consider Japan a ''de facto'' List of states with nuclear weapons, nuclear state. Numerous politicians such as Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda explained that Japan's constitution doesn't ban possession of nuclear weapons. They should be kept at a minimum and used as tactical weapons. The 1951 Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan, US-Japan Security Treaty puts Japan under the US nuclear umbrella. The last Japanese soldiers of

to surrender were Hiroo Onoda and Teruo Nakamura in 1974. Onoda was an intelligence officer and second lieutenant in the

. He continued his campaign after WWII for 29 years in a Japanese holdout on Lubang Island, the Philippines. He returned to Japan when he was relieved from duty by his commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi as per the order of Emperor Shōwa in 1974.Willacy, M. (2010)
Japanese holdouts fought for decades after WWII
''ABC Lateline'' (12 November 2010). Retrieved on 16 September 2011.Powers, D. (2011)
Japan: No Surrender in World War Two
''BBC History'' (17 February 2011). Retrieved on 16 September 2011. Teruo Nakamura was an Amis people, Amis Taiwanese aborigines, aborigine from Taiwan under Japanese rule, Japanese Taiwan in the Takasago Volunteer Unit of the Imperial Japanese army. He was stationed on Morotai Island, Indonesia and discovered by a pilot in mid-1974. Nakamura was repatriated to Taiwan in 1975. Throughout the post-war

, the Japanese people, Japanese had a low opinion of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, JSDF. They were seen as remnants of the imperial military who caused a severe loss and Surrender of Japan, humiliating surrender of

. They were considered "tax thieves" (zeikin dorobo) for being expensive and unnecessary while Japan had decades of booming economy. So the JSDF was still trying to find its place in Japanese society and earn respect and trust from the public. The SDF was managed by the Ministry of Defense (Japan), Japan Defense Agency which had little political influence compared to ministries. The JSDF had good personnel and equipment, but mainly served a supplementary role for the United States Armed Forces, US military against the

. Japan had record high economic growth during the Japanese economic miracle. By the 1970s Japan ascended to

status again. It had the world's Economic history of Japan, second largest economy. However, its military power was very limited due to pacifist policies and article 9 of the Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitution. Japan exerted disproportionately small political and military influence in the world. This made Japan an abnormal great power. ("''The great powers are super-sovereign states: an exclusive club of the most powerful states economically, militarily, politically and strategically. These states include veto-wielding members of the United Nations Security Council (United States, United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia), as well as economic powerhouses such as Germany, Italy and Japan.''")

Heisei era (1989–2019)

Departure from pacifism

During the Gulf War (1990–1991) the

couldn't participate due to restrictions of the Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitution. However, Japan did make a financial contribution of $10 billion and sent military hardware. Japan's inability to send troops was regarded as a big humiliation. They learned that only making financial contributions (checkbook diplomacy) did not earn Japan international respect. Furthermore, Japan couldn't provide much support to US forces which caused frustration. This humiliation was decisive in making policymakers and military planners determined to depart from Japan's pacifist foreign policy. Since 1991, the JSDF has conducted international activities to provide support for peacekeeping missions and disaster relief efforts as well as to help prevent conflict and terrorism. Particularly humanitarian aid such as helping the victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake, Kobe earthquake and humanitarian, reconstruction assistance in Iraq (2003 till 2009). In 1992 a law was passed to permit the JSDF to participate in United Nations peacekeeping, UN Peacekeeping missions. The Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation were revised in 1997 which increased the scope for the JSDF as rear-support for US forces by providing logistics support near Japan. On May 28, 1999, the Regional Affairs Law was enacted. It allows Japan to automatically participate as "rear support" if the United States begins a war under "regional affairs".

21st Century

JGSDF International disaster relief activities in Pakistan

The modern

is one of the most technologically advanced armed forces in the world. The JSDF ranked as the world's List of countries by Military Strength Index, fourth most-powerful military in conventional capabilities in a Credit Suisse report in 2015. It has the List of countries by military expenditures, eighth-largest military budget in the world with just 1% of GDP (2011). Since 1991 the JSDF has participated in dozens of international peacekeeping operations including United Nations peacekeeping, UN peacekeeping and disaster relief. From 1991 to 2016 the JSDF had approximately 32 overseas dispatches. These were mainly in

, South Asia and the Middle East. Japan has been a member of the United Nations since 18 December 1956 and served as a non-permanent United Nations Security Council, Security Council member for a total of List of members of the United Nations Security Council#List by number of years as Security Council member, 20 years. Japan is one of the G4 nations seeking to gain permanent membership of the Security Council. In 2004, the former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan announced a plan to expand the number of permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council. Despite being the third largest national economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, with global political influence, some debate whether or not a country with no official standing military can be considered a world power that should have a permanent seat on the council. The Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law was passed on October 29, 2001. It allows the JSDF to contribute by itself to international efforts to the prevention and eradication of terrorism. While on duty the JSDF can use weapons to protect themselves and others who come under their control. Previously Japan's policy was non-involvement. On 22 December 2001, the Battle of Amami-Ōshima was a six hour long confrontation with an undercover North Korean spy and infiltration ship. The spy ship was heavily armed and 400 km north west of the Japanese island Amami Ōshima. The spy ship didn't heed warnings of the Japanese Coast Guard and tried to escape. 12 patrol boats and 13 planes of the Japanese Coast Guard, JCG and 2 Maritime Self-Defense Force, MSDF destroyers chased the ship. Eventually the spy vessel opened fire and, after receiving fire from JCG cutters, sunk with self-destructive explosion. All 15 crew members died. This was the first time since World War 2 that Japan attacked and sank a foreign ship in Exclusive economic zone of Japan, Japan's sea territory. On March 27, 2004, the Ministry of Defense (Japan), Japan Defense Agency activated the Special Forces Group (Japan), Special Operations Group with the mandate under the JGSDF as its Counter-terrorism, Counter-terrorist unit. On June 8, 2006, the Cabinet of Japan endorsed a bill elevating the under the Cabinet Office (Japan), Cabinet Office to full-fledged cabinet-level . This was passed by the National Diet in December 2006, and has been enforced since January 9, 2007. In 2007, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe said that Japan's constitution did not necessarily ban possession of nuclear weapons, so long as they were kept at a minimum and were tactical weapons, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda expressed a similar view. On January 9, 2007, Section 2 of Article 3 of the Self Defense Forces Act was revised. JSDF activities abroad were elevated from "miscellaneous regulations" to "basic duties". This fundamentally changed the nature of the JSDF because its activities are no longer solely defensive. JMSDF ships can be dispatched worldwide such as in activities against pirates. The JSDF's first postwar overseas base was established in Djibouti, Somalia (July 2010).

Resurgence

Since 2010, Japan reemerged as a major military power. Various policies increased the role of Japan's military in its foreign policy. Japan's 2010 National Defense Program Guidelines changed its defense policy from a focus on the former

to People's Republic of China, China. After a decade of defense spending cuts, Japan increased its defense budget in 2013. The Cabinet of Japan approved the National Security Strategy (NSS) in December 2013. This explains what instigated Japan's military resurgence: China is using military force in the skies and seas to unilaterally change the status quo in the South China Sea and East China Sea. This is based on China's assertions that are incompatible with the established order. China also lacks transparency of its military and national security policies. The Japanese are concerned about a gradual decline in commitment by the

to support Japan in a multi-polarizing world. Thus since 2010 Japan has moved to a more autonomous security policy while maintaining the U.S.-Japan alliance. Japan has increased its power projection capabilities such as with the development of homemade long-range cruise missiles, the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade and the modification of two Izumo-class multi-purpose destroyer, ''Izumo''-class destroyers into de facto aircraft carriers with Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, F-35Bs. There's gradual integration among the three JSDF branches so they can operate more autonomously from the US. The United States maintains United States Forces Japan, American military bases in Japan as part of the Japan-America Security Alliance, U.S.-Japan alliance of 1951. Most US military are in Okinawa Prefecture. In 2013 there were approximately 50,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan with 40,000 dependents and 5,500 American civilians employed by the United States Department of Defense.Yoshida, Reiji,
Basics of the U.S. military presence
, ''Japan Times'', 25 March 2008, p. 3. The United States Seventh Fleet is based in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is based in Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa. 130 USAF fighters are stationed in the Misawa Air Base and Kadena Air Base. U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka is the largest and strategically most important U.S. naval base in the western Pacific. The base was previously the headquarters of the Yokosuka Naval District of the

, but now only a small portion of it is used by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, JMSDF. Kadena Air Base is the largest and most active US Air Force base in the Far East. Japan pays 75% ($4.4 billion) of all US basing costs. Japan's willingness to host the majority of the US Armed Forces in Asia makes Japan essential to America's security policy in the Indo-Pacific. This helps the U.S. to project military force in the Pacific and Asia. The U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of peace, stability and economic prosperity in the Pacific. On December 4, 2013, the National Security Council (Japan), National Security Council was established to coordinate the national security policies of Japan. In June 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his cabinet agreed to lift the long-term ban on Japanese troops engaging in combat abroad. This was in a bid to strengthen the Japanese situation amid an ever-growing Chinese military aggression and North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. The JSDF Act was amended in 2015 in order to make it illegal for JSDF personnel/staff to participate in collective insubordination or to command forces without authority or in violation of orders, which was stated to be the reason why Japan was involved in China in World War II.

Global U.S.-Japan alliance

Until 2015, the U.S.-Japan alliance was a regional alliance with an exclusively defense oriented policy on defending Japan. The ''Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation (2015)'' changed it into a global alliance with global military cooperation and greater U.S.-Japan coordination. It removed the regional restrictions that the alliance was only for Japan and the surrounding area. This allowed Japan to assume a global military role such as in the Indo-Pacific. It was the first defense cooperation guidelines revision since 1997. Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reaffirmed that America has an ironclad commitment to Japan's security which covers all territories under Japan's administration. Constitutional reinterpretations of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, Article 9 and military legislation have expanded the role of the JSDF such as collective self-defense with allies. On 18, September 2015, the National Diet enacted the 2015 Japanese military legislation, a series of laws that allow Japan's Self-Defense Forces to collective self-defense of allies in combat for the first time under its constitution. The Self-Defense Forces may provide material support to allies engaged in combat internationally. It also allows JSDF troops to defend weapons platforms of foreign countries that contribute to Japan's defense. The justification is that by not defending/supporting an ally, it would weaken alliances and endanger Japan. These were Japan's broadest changes to its defense laws since World War II. Since March 2016, Japan's Legislation for Peace and Security enables seamless responses of the JSDF to any situation to protect the lives and livelihood of Japanese people. It also increases proactive contributions to peace and security in the world and deepens cooperation with partners. This enhanced the Japan-US alliance as global partners to promote peace and security in the region and the international community. As of 2012, Japan and its allies want to maintain a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" (FOIP). This means any country can freely navigate across the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean from Asia to Africa for economic purposes. By implementing and guarding the rule of law in the oceans, peace, stability and prosperity can be promoted. The FOIP strategy became the official policy of Japan and the United States in 2017. This is the opposite to China's Belt and Road Initiative where China seeks to become the main economic partner with major or dominant influence in countries in Eurasia, the Middle-East and Africa. There are territorial disputes in the South China Sea, because China claims nearly the whole South China Sea and wants to control the vital sea lanes in Asia. China built military outposts on islands which intimidate and violate the territorial claims of other countries like Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines. One third of global seaborne trade ($3 trillion) passed through the South China Sea in 2017. A January 2018 survey by the Cabinet Office (Japan), Cabinet Office found 89.8% have a good impression of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, JSDF. Japan activated the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, its first marine unit since World War Two, on April 7, 2018. They're trained to counter invaders from occupying Japanese islands.Kubo, Nobuhir
Japan activates first marines since WW2 to bolster defenses against China
April 7, 2018. ''Reuters''. Retrieved August 2, 2018 Japan didn't have an amphibious force since the Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces. 50 Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, ARDB soldiers were deployed with 4 armored vehicles for the first time in an overseas training exercise with United States Marine Corps, American and Philippine Marine Corps, Filipino marines in Operation Kamandag in Luzon, the Philippines from 2 to 11 October 2018. This was the first time that Japanese armored vehicles landed on foreign soil since

. The Ministry of Defense said from 1 October 2018, the maximum age for enlisted personnel and non-commissioned officer applicants will be raised to 32 from 26 to secure "a stable supply of Self-Defense Forces (military) personnel amid a declining pool of recruits due to the recently declining birth rate." The Ministry of Defense is developing supersonic glide bombs to strengthen the defense of

's remote islands, including the Senkaku Islands. The anti-surface strike capability will be used to help the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade's landing and recapture operations of remote islands. Military cooperation increased significantly with other like-minded democratic countries such as India, Australia, the

and the United Kingdom. Such as on 2 October 2018, British troops of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) exercised together for the first time with Japanese GSDF soldiers in Oyama, Shizuoka, Oyama, Shizuoka prefecture. This also marked the first time in history that foreign soldiers other than Americans exercised on Japanese soil. The purpose was to improve their strategic partnership and security cooperation. Lieutenant General Patrick Sanders (British Army officer), Patrick Sanders said that Japan won't have to fight alone. The Ministry of Defense allocated $57 million for research and development of a hypersonic missile in the 2019 Defense Budget. It could travel five times the speed of sound (Mach number, Mach 5) or faster. A scramjet engine prototype, jet fuel technology and heat-resistant materials will be built with testing from 2023 to 2025. Japan christened the 84-meter long, 2,950 tons Oryu submarine on October 4, 2018. It is Japan's first submarine powered by lithium-ion batteries and was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The

will utilize it by March 2020. The JGSDF and the Indian Army conducted their first joint military exercise in the Indian state of Mizoram from 27 October to 18 November 2018. It's primarily anti-terror drills and improving bilateral cooperation with 60 Japanese and Indian officers. Japan and the United States conducted the biggest military exercise around Japan thus far in the biennial Keen Sword from 29 October to 2 November 2018. It included a total of 57,000 sailors, marines and airmen. 47,000 service members were from the JSDF and 10,000 from the U.S. Armed Forces. A naval supply ship and frigate of the Royal Canadian Navy also participated. There were simulations of air combat, ballistic missile defense and amphibious landings. Number-of-Scrambles-Japan-Air-Self-Defense-Force

Number-of-Scrambles-Japan-Air-Self-Defense-Force

Since 2008, the number of scrambles by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, JASDF to intercept Chinese aircraft has increased rapidly. In 2010 there were scrambles against 31 Chinese aircraft and 193 Russian aircraft. In 2018 this increased to 638 Chinese aircraft and 343 Russian aircraft. Chinese aircraft flight paths are mostly in the East China Sea, around the Ryukyu islands and through the Korea Strait. Russia frequently conducts flights orbiting Japan. The Ministry of Defense (Japan), Ministry of Defense reported in fiscal 2018 that there were 999 scrambles by Japan Air Self-Defense Force, JASDF jets against mainly Chinese and Russian unidentified aircraft. That is the second highest amount of Scrambling (military), scrambles by the JASDF since 1958. 638 (64%) were Chinese aircraft and 343 (34%) were Russian aircraft. On June 20, 2019, two Russian bombers (Tupolev Tu-95) violated Japanese airspace twice on the same day. In December 2018, the Ministry of Defense announced they would procure an additional 63 F-35As and 42 F-35Bs. This increases the total Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, F-35 Lightning II procurement from 42 to 147. The Japanese government approved the first ever JSDF dispatch to a peacekeeping operation that's not lead by the United Nations. Two JGSDF officers will monitor a cease-fire between Israel and Egypt at the Multinational Force and Observers command in the Sinai peninsula from 19 April till 30 November 2019. On 19 April 2019, Japan and the United States confirmed that cyberattacks are also covered by the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan, bilateral security treaty. This will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Defense cooperation will increase for outer space, cyber and electronic warfare. Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya announced plans to deploy Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles in March 2020. They have an increased range of 300 km and will be used to protect the southern Ryukyu Islands. Japan is also developing high-speed gliding missiles with a range of 1000 km.

Reiwa era (2019–present)

People's Liberation Army Navy vessels (PLAN) increasingly make incursions in the Western Pacific Ocean via the Miyako Strait. The Miyako Strait is one of the few international waterways through which China can access the Pacific Ocean. There is also increased Chinese naval and aerial activity near the Senkaku Islands dispute, Senkaku islands which are owned by Japan, but claimed by China. This puts the Southern Ryukyu Islands at the forefront of Japan's national defense. By 2030 China could have four aircraft carriers. Meanwhile, Japan only has two relatively small Izumo-class multi-purpose operation destroyer, Izumo-class carriers. Each Izumo can carry just 10 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, F-35s. There are currently no plans to build bigger Izumo-class multi-purpose operation destroyer, multi-purpose operation destroyers though experts say Japan needs at least four carriers for effective use in real combat situations. China's military spending increased a lot in 20 years. In 2019 China was the second highest List of countries by military expenditures, military spender with $250 billion (1.9% of GDP). This strengthened its military power in the seas and skies around Japan. Comparatively, Japan's expenditure was $46.6 billion (0.9% of GDP). Japan still depends on America for deterrence and offensive attack capabilities due to Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, Article 9 of the 1947 constitution. In May 2019, the JMSDF participated for the first time in two quadrilateral naval exercises. It included the and . It was also the first extended naval deployment of marines of the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade. The first exercise was a four-way sail-through in the South China Sea with naval ships of the United States, India, Japan and the Philippines. The second was the La Pérouse exercise in the Bay of Bengal with France, United States, Australia and Japan. On May 28, 2019, President Donald Trump inspected the , the second ship in the Izumo-class multi-purpose operation destroyer, Izumo class, during his visit in Japan and supported the country's effort for an active role in the defense and security of the Pacific region. This was the first ever inspection by a U.S. president of a Japanese warship. Trump also stated that the will help defend Japan and America against threats in the region and far beyond. There is increasing support among Japanese to change Japan from being a pacifist to a "normal" country with an official military. In April 2019, a Kyodo News poll showed 45% thought Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, Article 9 of the constitution should be revised. This support for revision is partially due to: the hostility of North Korea, an increasingly assertive People's Republic of China, China, and unstable relations with Russian Federation, Russia due to territorial disputes that prevent a Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, peace treaty being signed. There are territorial disputes involving the Senkaku Islands, Liancourt Rocks, and the Kuril Islands dispute, Kuril Islands. Japanese claim that the U.S. has failed to properly address these issues, so Japan must grant itself the means to adequately protect itself. Attempts have been made by multiple Government of Japan, Governments of Japan to amend the Japanese Constitution so that Japan can have an official and normal military with offensive capabilities to share an equal burden of national security duties. This was prevented by an anti-war sentiment among the populace and politicians. In May 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set a 2020 deadline for revising the Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, a clause in the national Constitution of Japan outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state. This charter was written by the United States. The 'Defense of Japan 2019' white paper lists China as a bigger threat than North Korea. Defense Minister Taro Kono said "The reality is that China is rapidly increasing military spending," "China is deploying air and sea assets in the Western Pacific and through the Tsushima Strait into the Sea of Japan with greater frequency." The paper downgraded South Korea for exiting a military intelligence-sharing pact. This could make it more difficult to manage threats from North Korea. On October 21, 2019, a senior U.S. military officer in Tokyo said that "Japan's avoidance of offensive weaponry under its constitution is no longer acceptable." The officer stated that Japan needs to rethink its rejection of offensive weapons and that the government should discuss it with the public. The officer also mentioned restrictions that limit the US forces and the JSDF's preparation for contingencies. The officer said that the government of Japan should inform the public about the threats of China and North Korea. In particular China's military buildup with ballistic missiles and its antagonistic behavior threatens Japan and other countries. On September 10, 2020, Japan and India signed a military pact called the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA). The pact allows them to exchange logistical support and supplies. This includes transportation and cross-use of facilities during joint exercises and U.N. peacekeeping operations and to share food, fuel, spare parts. Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe believe it will boost a Free and Open Indo-Pacific region and to deter Chinese aggression in Asia. Japan already had such agreements with Australia, Canada, France, UK and USA. Australia and Japan agreed in-principle to sign a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) on 17, November 2020. This will enhance and streamline strategic and defense co-operation. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Morrison said it is a "pivotal moment in the history of Japan-Australia ties". In 2021, the NHK reported that the Chinese military used a hacker group called Tick for cyberattacks on nearly 200 Japanese research institutions and firms. A member of the China's Communist Party used a false name to rent servers in Japan from which the cyberattacks were conducted. , the Japanese government has discovered that foreign groups funded with Chinese capital are involved in at least 700 land sales within of U.S. military bases—and Japanese Self-Defense Force, Coast Guard, and space development facilities—in Japan. In Kanagawa Prefecture, a Chinese government–linked land buyer acquired multiple high-rise buildings and other locations overlooking the bases. Similar instances were found in Okinawa Prefecture and Tottori Prefecture. In 2017, the ''Sankei Shimbun'' reported that Chinese capital had purchased land in

equivalent to the acreage of 513 Tokyo Domes. The Japanese Diet intends to pass a foreign land use control bill.

Japan's militaristic heritage

What distinguishes Japan from other countries is that Japan was near continuously ruled by the military class with the

and

in the top of the Japanese

for 676 years (from 1192 till 1868). In 1192, the shōgun

and the

established a feudal

in Kamakura.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)
"''Kamakura-jidai''"
in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The

was above the

and revered as the sovereign, but merely a

. The Imperial Court in Kyoto, Imperial Court nobility was a nominal ruling court with little influence. The actual ruling class were Japanese military figures: the

(military dictator),

(feudal lords) and the

(military nobility and Officer (armed forces), officers). The samurai were idolized and their conduct was role model behavior for other social classes. This resulted in Japanese culture to have a long militaristic heritage. In human history only a few countries had a warrior social class, caste at the top of their

, a class that was practically above the aristocracy. Few

s lasted more than 600 years. One key difference between ancient China and Japanese society was the development of the

class in Japan. Feudal China had four classes: Confucianism, Confucian literati and landlords, peasants, artisans and merchants. The Confucian literati and landlords were at the top of Chinese

. Japanese feudal society was also stratified, but had the

class in the top of Japanese society since the 12th century. Thus many experts consider pre-modern Japan a "warrior nation" as the ideals, ideologies of the

permeated through Japanese culture and society. Such as bushido and the Japanese proverb ''Hana wa sakuragi, hito wa bushi'' ( ja, 花は桜木人は武士, literally "the [best] blossom is the cherry blossom; the [best] man is the warrior"). Comparatively the Chinese idiom is ''Haonan budang Bing, Hao tie bu dading'' ( zh, 好铁不打钉、好男不当兵, means "Good iron is not cast into nails; good men are not made into soldiers"). In 1551, during the

, the Navarrese Catholic Church, Roman Catholic missionary Francis Xavier was one of the List of Westerners who visited Japan before 1868, first westerners who visited Japan. Francis described Japan as follows: Nakamura explained in 1843: The

consolidated the political system under the

with practical abilities. The shogun and daimyo were abolished. Their domains were returned to the emperor. Power was mainly transferred to a group of people called the Meiji oligarchy and the Genrō who helped restore imperial power. The Genrō were retired senior statesmen and informal advisers to the emperor. All Genrō except Saionji Kinmochi were descendants of medium or lower ranking samurai families from Satsuma domain, Satsuma and Chōshū domain, Chōshū. They were instrumental in overthrowing the

in the

(1868–1869). In 1873,

abolished the samurai class in favor of a western-style conscripted army. They lost their privileges such as the only class allowed to wield weapons. Many samurai volunteered as soldiers, and many advanced to be trained as officers. Much of the

officer class was of samurai origin, and were highly motivated, disciplined, and exceptionally trained. Many samurai were literate and well-educated. Such as Baron Sadao Araki who served as the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan), Minister of Education and Iwasaki Yatarō who founded Mitsubishi in 1870. So most leaders in Japanese society during the

(military, politics and business) were ex-

or descendants of samurai. They shared a set of values and outlooks. This caused

to dominate the political and social life of the

. The military class has arguably been the de facto rulers of Japan for about 753 years from 1192 until 1945, starting with the first shogun until the last ex-samurai politicians. The Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitution transformed Japan into a pacifist country. The former soldiers gained other professions such as salaryman. Douglas MacArthur was dubbed the for being the military governor of Japan from 1945 to 1951. In modern Japan, the warrior heritage is remembered and revered. For example, famous

and soldiers in literature (e.g.

, Hiroo Onoda), festivals (Shingen-ko Festival), Japanese martial arts, martial arts, samurai cinema, movies, entertainment, art and feudal castles. Cultural practices like the Japanese tea ceremony, Japanese painting, monochrome ink painting, Japanese rock gardens and poetry such as the death poem are associated with the samurai and were adopted by warrior patrons throughout the centuries (1200–1600).Mayumi Ito, ''Japanese Tokko Soldiers and Their Jisei'' There are influential Japanese people in business and politics who are descendants of samurai families. The ideals of the

and bushido are integral parts of Japanese culture. The ideologies that originated from Japan's military class are adapted and utilized when necessary.

Japanese military museums

These are significant museums about Japanese military history. *Self Defense Force **JMSDF Kure Museum – about the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force, JMSDF and includes the retired JMSDF Yūshio-class submarine Akishio (SS-579). ** – Asaka, Saitama. It has a museum with real combat equipment and vehicles of the Japan Ground Self Defence Force, JGSDF. **Hamamatsu Air Base – it has a museum about the Japan Air Self Defence Force, JASDF with Japanese aviation, planes, technology, tokusatsu and military history. **Kanoya Air Base Museum **Naval Academy Etajima#The Naval History Museum, The Naval History Museum - Etajima, Hiroshima *Modern **Yūshūkan – this is the first and oldest war and military museum in Japan, established in 1882. **Yamato Museum – it has a 1/10 scale model of the battleship Japanese battleship Yamato, Yamato, a Mitsubishi A6M Zero model 62 and Kaiten human torpedo and a Kairyū-class submarine. **Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots – a peace museum dedicated to the hundreds of Kamikaze pilots from the airbase at Chiran. **Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum – dedicated to documenting the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II. *Feudal Japan **Matsumoto Castle – the second floor features a collection of feudal guns, armor, and other weapons. **Ninja Museum of Igaryu – about the history of the ninja and ninjutsu. **Japanese Sword Museum – dedicated to the art of Japanese swordmaking.

Prehistoric and Ancient Japan

Jōmon period (14,000–1000 BC)

Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD)

Classical Japan

Yamato period (250–710 AD)

Nara period (710–794 AD)

Heian period (794–1185 AD)

Feudal Japan

Kamakura period (1185–1333)

First Mongol Invasion (1274)

Second Mongol Invasion (1281)

Kusunoki Masashige

Muromachi period (1336–1467)

Sengoku period (1467–1603)

Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568–1600)

Early modern period

Edo period (1603–1867)

Modern period

Meiji era (1868–1912)

Modern army established

Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895)

Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)

The Boxer Rebellion

Russo-Japanese War

Taishō era and World War I (1912–1926)

Shōwa era and World War II (1926–1945)

Contemporary period

Shōwa era (Post-war) (1945–1989)

Heisei era (1989–2019)

Departure from pacifism

21st Century

Resurgence

Global U.S.-Japan alliance

Reiwa era (2019–present)

Japan's militaristic heritage

Japanese military museums

See also

Notes

References

Sources

Further reading

External links